Acorns Review 2025: Is Acorns the Best Investment App for Beginners?

In 2025, investing has never been easier thanks to user-friendly apps like Acorns. Designed specifically for beginners, Acorns simplifies the process of saving and investing by automating everything from rounding up spare change to creating diversified portfolios. But is it the right choice for your financial goals? This comprehensive review explores Acorns’ features, pricing, and benefits, and answers common questions to help you decide if it’s the best investment app for you.

What is Acorns?

Acorns is a micro-investing platform that turns spare change into investments, making it accessible for anyone to start building wealth. By linking to your credit or debit cards, Acorns automatically rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference into diversified portfolios of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The platform’s mission is to make investing effortless, affordable, and educational, especially for first-time investors.

Key Features of Acorns:

Round-Ups

Automatically rounds up every transaction to the nearest dollar and invests the difference. For example, if you spend $3.50 on coffee, $0.50 will be added to your investment balance once you accumulate $5 in round-ups.

Recurring Investments

Users can schedule automatic deposits into their investment accounts, starting as low as $5 daily, weekly, or monthly.

Diversified Portfolios

Choose from five pre-built portfolios ranging from conservative to aggressive, curated by financial experts and composed of ETFs from trusted providers like Vanguard and BlackRock.

Acorns Later (Retirement Accounts)

Save for retirement by opening a Traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA through the Acorns platform.

Acorns Early

Invest for your children’s future with custodial accounts under the UTMA/UGMA system.

Found Money

Earn cash-back investments when you shop with Acorns’ partner brands. These rewards are automatically deposited into your account.

Acorns Checking

A checking account that integrates with the investment platform, featuring no minimum balance requirements, no overdraft fees, and a debit card that supports Round-Ups® in real time.

Grow (Financial Education)

Access to educational content including articles, tutorials, and videos designed to improve financial literacy.

Sustainable Investing

New ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) portfolios allow users to invest in socially responsible companies.

Pricing Plans

Acorns offers three subscription tiers to meet different needs:

Personal Plan ($3/month)

Includes Acorns Invest (taxable investment accounts), Acorns Later (retirement accounts), and Acorns Checking.

Personal Plus Plan ($5/month)

Includes everything in the Personal Plan plus priority support and additional perks for budgeting and financial planning.

Premium Plan ($9/month)

Includes all features of the Personal Plus Plan, plus access to will preparation services, a $10,000 life insurance policy, and advanced financial tools.

While these fees are low compared to traditional investment platforms, they can be a significant percentage of smaller account balances. For instance, a $3/month fee equates to a 36% annual cost on a $100 account.

Recent Updates in 2025

Acorns continues to evolve, introducing features tailored to today’s investors:

• ESG Portfolios: For socially conscious investors, ESG portfolios prioritize companies with strong environmental, social, and governance practices.
• Smart Deposit: Automatically allocates a portion of your paycheck into your Acorns accounts, ensuring consistent contributions.
• Expanded Found Money Partners: Acorns has added new retail and service partners, offering more ways to earn cash-back investments.

User Experience

Acorns consistently earns high marks for its seamless and intuitive design:

• Apple App Store: 4.7/5 from over 1 million reviews.
• Google Play Store: 4.6/5 from 750,000+ reviews.

Users frequently praise the app for its ease of use, automated features, and financial literacy tools. However, some have raised concerns about the impact of fees on smaller accounts and the inability to customize portfolios.

Who Should Use Acorns?

Acorns is ideal for:

• Beginners: Those new to investing who need a simple, automated solution.
• Busy Professionals: Users who want to set it and forget it.
• Parents: Families looking to save for their children’s future with Acorns Early.
• Micro-Investors: Anyone interested in starting small and growing their investment over time.

However, Acorns may not be the best choice for:

• Advanced Investors: Those seeking more control over individual investments or advanced tools like tax optimization.
• Low-Balance Users: People with small balances may find fees disproportionately high relative to their returns.

Conclusion

Acorns is a standout choice for beginner investors looking for a hassle-free way to start building wealth. Its automated features, diversified portfolios, and financial education resources make it an excellent tool for growing small investments over time. However, the monthly fees can be a drawback for users with low balances, and more advanced investors may find its lack of customization limiting.

If you’re ready to take the first step in your investment journey, Acorns offers a simple and effective way to get started. But for those seeking more robust tools or advanced options, alternatives like Betterment or Robinhood may be worth considering.

FAQs

1. Is Acorns safe to use?
Yes, Acorns uses bank-level encryption to protect user data and is insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for up to $500,000 in investments.

2. What is the minimum amount needed to start investing with Acorns?
You can start investing with as little as $5. Round-Ups® begin accumulating from your linked accounts immediately.

3. Does Acorns guarantee returns?
No, like all investments, returns are subject to market fluctuations and are not guaranteed.

4. How does Acorns make money?
Acorns earns revenue through its subscription fees and partnerships with brands in its Found Money program.

5. Can I withdraw money from my Acorns account?
Yes, you can withdraw funds from your investment or checking accounts at any time. However, withdrawals from retirement accounts may incur penalties depending on the account type and timing.

6. Does Acorns charge additional fees besides the monthly subscription?
No, Acorns does not charge trading or management fees beyond the subscription cost.